You are on page 1of 7

Stillman Chap. 2: Formal Structure of Bureaucracy.

Max Weber, Bureaucracy Stillman Chapter 2 Walker Garrett (2005) Characteristics of Bureaucracy I. Activities required within structure are distributed as official duties II. Authority and delegation power is given to officials to properly complete duties III. Provisions are in place to have continuous fulfillment of duties and persons in charge of duties are qualified a. In public, these 3 characteristics make up the bureaucratic authority b. In private, bureaucratic management c. Bureaucracy can only be developed in modern states or most advanced institutions of capitalism. IV. In bureaucracy, there is a system of hierarchy where authority is distributed in a manner which the lower offices are supervised by higher offices. a. In full development, hierarchy is monocratically organized b. Once established an office tends to continue even after fulfilling task and be held by another incumbent V. The management of the modern office is based upon written documents, which are preserved in their original form. a. Bureaucracy separates public and private life, business from home, in all aspects. VI. Most specialized office management has expert training before employment VII. Bureaucratic offices when fully developed are a full time job VIII. Authority within modern public administration gives the power to regulate not for each case of a matter, but to regulate that matter abstractly The Position of the Official I. Office holding is a vocation which requires training, an ability to work for long periods of time, and requires examination before employment a. Entrance into an office, including one in the private economy, is considered an acceptance of a specific obligation of faithful management in return for a secure existence. b. A political official isnt the personal servant of a ruler. II. Public or private, officials strive to obtain distinct social esteem as compared to those governed a. Educational certificates are linked to not only qualification for office, but serve to enhance the status element in the social position of the official. b. The pure type of bureaucratic official is appointed by a superior authority. c. The official who is not elected but appointed by a chief normally functions more exactly, from a technical point of view, because, all other circumstances being equal, it is more likely that purely functional points of consideration and qualities will determine his selection and career. i. Judges appointed in US as opposed to quality of elected 1. Appointed are generally more qualified 2. The monocratic rule within bureaucracy contradicts the formally democratic principle of a universally elected officialdom. d. As a factual rule, tenure for life is presupposed, even where the giving of notice or periodic reappointment occurs

i. Where legal guarantees against arbitrary dismissal or transfer are developed, they merely serve to guarantee a strictly objective discharge of specific office duties free from all personal considerations. ii. Those officials with more dependence on the master are more likely to conform with status conventions e. Officials usually receive a fixed salary with old age security provided by pension i. This security of income and rewards of social esteem make the office a sought after position f. Officials become involved in their office as a career within the hierarchal order of public service. i. General personal and intellectual qualifications are taken into consideration over education with regards to the highest political offices. Technical Advantages of Bureaucratic Organization I. Precision, speed, unambiguity, knowledge of the files, continuity, discretion, unity, strict subordination, reduction of friction and of material and personal costs----these are raised to the optimum point in the strictly bureaucratic administration, and especially in its monocratic form. a. Bureaucratic work is more precise and cheaper than honorific service on complicated tasks b. Work organized by collegiate bodies is inefficient because of delays and compromises which lead to less precise, more independent, slower work c. Very large, modern capitalist businesses are unequalled models of strict bureaucratic structures. d. Individual performances are allocated to specialists who have specific training and constant practice e. Bureaucracy produces calculable results which are needed by modern culture f. Bureaucracy is dehumanized, eliminating personal feelings, the special nature of the organizational theory i. It demands the personally detached and strictly objective expert The Permanent Character of the Bureaucratic Machine I. Bureaucracy has been and is a power instrument of the first order for the one who controls the bureaucratic apparatus. a. Officials are entrusted with specialized tasks, so the general mechanism cannot be disrupted except by the very top of the hierarchy b. Bureaucracy rests upon expert training, a functional specialization of work, and an attitude set for habitual and virtuoso-like mastery of single yet methodically integrated functions. c. The fact that the bureaucratic structure is impersonal allows for anyone who knows how to gain control over it to use it by simply replacing a few top officials. Economic and Social Consequences of Bureaucracy I. The legal leveling and destruction of firmly established local structures ruled by notables which takes place with bureaucratization has usually made for a wider range of capitalist activity. II. The mere fact of bureaucratic organization does not unambiguously tell us about the concrete direction of it economic effects, which are always in some manner present. III. Bureaucracy strives merely to level those powers that stand in its way and in those areas that, in the individual case, it seeks to occupy. IV. Democracy is opposed to rule of bureaucracy The Power Position of Bureaucracy I. The drawing in of economic interest groups or other non-official experts, or the drawing in of

non-expert lay representatives, the establishment of local, inter-local, or central parliamentary or other representative bodies, or of occupational associations---these seem to run directly against the bureaucratic tendency. a. Under normal conditions, the power position of a fully developed bureaucracy is always overtowering.

Max Weber "Bureaucracy" (Stillman Ch 2 or Curtis v2) Larry McLemore Max Weber was a German lawyer who was influenced by the teachings of Karl Marx. He was also a historian and economist. Weber was the first to really examine the bureaucratic organization and its officials. Characteristics of Bureaucracy Bueraucratic Authority is in the public sector. Bureaucratic Management is displayed in the private (economic) sector. 1. Bureaucratic authority has guidelines that make the activities, authority, duties taken out in a fixed manner. To have the existence of authority within the agency the duties must be established. 2. The heirarchy office type is found in all bureaucratic structures--public and private. Weber claims that the character of the bureaucracy remains unchanged if its authority is public or private. The authorities at the lower levels are able to examine others actions. 3. Documents and files that have been all kept on record are the means for management of the organization. The rules are written for specific reasons and should not be changed. Rules guarantee guidance in the organization. 4. Thorough and expert training are essential for good, specialized office management. An office manager is expected to be familiar with all rules and regulations. 5. The full working capacity of the official is a must for official activity. The official is responsible for fulfilling his or her job once the duties have been established and the office has totally developed. 6. The office management follows general rules that do not change and can be learned. The Position of the Official A true bureaucratic official is appointed by an authority that is superior. An elected official is not a true bureaucratic official. The official must be effective and efficient to survive in office. Appointed officials (especially judges) are chosen for superior qualifications and integrity.

Civil Service agencies tend to protect employees and put pressure and constraints on officials. Most officials want a law for the Civil Service that protects them from being removed. Techincal Advantages of Bureaucratic Organization A developed bureaucracy is like a machine. The bureaucratic administration can provide the best precision, speed, clarity of issues, knowledge of issues and information, continuity, discretion, unity, and so on. Bureaucratization allows for specializing administartive functions. Bureaucracies are made up of "calculable rules" which provides stability and efficiency. "The great virtue of bureacracy-indeed, perhaps its defining characteristic-was that it was an institutional method for applying general rules to specific cases, thereby making the actions of government fair and predictable." -- Max Weber Stillman Chap. 2: Max Weber, "Bureaucracy" (part 2) Sections 10-12 (Will Steineker) The Permanent Character of the Bureaucratic Machine Bureaucracy is the way in which we translate "community action" into "societal action" Bureaucracy is, therefore, quite powerful and well entrenched Individual bureaucrats cannot remove himself from the system Individuals in society cannot do without the bureaucracy The mechanism of bureaucracy works easily for those who control it The mechanical nature of bureaucracy makes true revolution nearly impossible

y y y y y y y

y Economic and Social Consequences of Bureaucracy y The consequences of bureaucracy depend on the direction that ruling powers give it y Bureaucracy has often served capitalist ends y Bureaucracy is agile enough to serve any number of political or economic ends y Democracy is by no means the only system under which bureaucracy can or does function y Democracy creates obstacles for bureaucracy, yet allows it to flourish y The Power Position of Bureaucracy y The modern state is constantly undergoing bureaucratization y Whether or not the actual power of bureaucracy is increasing is an open question y The power of bureaucracy does not lie in its highly developed machinery or in its y "indispensable" nature

Chap. 3: Environment, Ecology of Public Admin. by Charles U Walters, Spring 07 y Economics and Ecology are closely related but Ecology is much wider, it deals with all the interrelationships of living organisms and their environment
y

An ecological approach to public administration builds from the ground up (demographics of an area, social habits, technology etc).

y Gaus uses seven factors he feels are useful for explaining the process of public administration: people, place, physical technology, social technology, wishes and ideas, catastrophe, and personality.
y y y y y

Changes in distribution of people over different places has effects on policy (people moving to cities or to farms) Physical technology has impacted policy for an increase in paved roads social technology the invention of the corporation wishes and ideas being influenced by information or values/thoughts that lead you to a particular action catastrophe the effects of a catastrophe are relatively short lived in many cases because after the first response often the older forces flood back and cancel out most of the first reaction (catastrophe i.e.- night club burned killing service men, legislation was passed for fire inspection) personality it is left to our own interpretation I would assume

John M Gaus, "The Ecology of Public Administration" Walker Garrett (2005) Ecology deals with all interrelationships of living organisms and their environment. There is a lineage between physical area, population, transport, and government. 7 Axioms 1. Continuous, efficient discharge of government is necessary to a great society 2. As complexity grows, so do functions of the government and the relationship between those functions and the people. 3. Government is strong in proportion to its capacity to deliver functions for the people 4. Legislation respecting functions is easy, but enforcement of that legislation is not

5. Effective and wise administration is the central prerequisite for survival of government and society 6. Administration should be drawn from different classes, talents, prepared with education, and subjected to constructive internal and external criticism or a bureaucracy dangerous to society may develop 7. Administrative system must operate to keep alive local and individual responsibilities, not just central government. Eco approach elements: from ground up- soils, climate, location Factors of ebb and flow of government: People, Place, Physical Technology, Social Technology, Wishes and Ideas, Catastrophe, Personality People and Place Movement from Farms to Cities from 18th Century to 20th Century led to no jobs for the old. This created a pension society. City to Suburbs Values of lands and buildings changed, and transport and utility had to be adjusted to meet growing demand in country. Physical Where there is an exhaustion of resources, there must be renewal and restoration and it takes a long time to restore sources of production. Ex. Forest replanting for timber Changes in place, or the use of the resources and products of a place are coercive in their effect upon public administration. Changes in physical technology, however slowly their institutional influences may spread, are more obvious even to the point of being dramatic, to the citizen. Pooling and application of the savings of many through the invention of the corporation has set new forces to ripple through the social order, disarranging human relationships and creating new possibilities of large scale enterprise financially capable of utilizing extensive equipment and personnel and creating new relationships between buyer and seller, employer and employee-from which coercions for a new balance of forces, through consumer, labor, and investor standards have resulted. The originators of ideas and of social as well as physical invention are persons. Catastrophes Preparation and training are essential for coming through a catastrophe and evolving from it. Similar to a forest fire where the soil is enriched and produces better growth than before, a Catastrophe can shake up popular opinion and awaken administration to the reality of things or improve previous ideas. In many ways, catastrophes are an adapting time of the ecology of public administration. When the terrorists struck the World Trade Center Towers on 9/11, the government

had to change its way of thinking and adapt with new policies. This is part of the ecology talked about with public administration. It is through growth and formulation of public policy from environmental change that the administration is linked to the environment. John M. Gaus, "The Ecology of Public Administration" by Amy C. Garrett "ecology" as defined by Webster's dictionary "is the mutual relations, collectively between organisms and their environments" Charles A. Beard created 7 axioms in which environmental changes are linked with public administration (found on pg 83) the ecological approach builds from the ground up, it studys the roots of government functions, civic attitudes, and operating problems 7 Factors effecting the Ebb and Flow of ecological public administration 1. People 2. Places 3. physical technology 4. social technology 5. wishes and ideas 6. catastrophe 7. personality the ecological approach is difficult because you must observe these seven factors combined in different ways tells why certain agencies are formed

You might also like